As the name suggests, this documentary produced by BFM Media and Sun Ra pictures, celebrates the sweet sounds of Lovers Rock. Director Menelik Shabazz narrates a tale of love and romance, which embraced South London in the seventies and eighties. The soothing sounds of romantic reggae sold the experience of immigration and migration, the sounds of the Caribbean on British soil via first generation British musicians and music lovers.
Actors such as Robbie Gee and Victor Romero Evans, Comedians Wayne Rollins, Kwaku, Mr Cee, Glenda Jackson and Rudi Lickwood, Sociologist Dr Lez Henry entrepreneur Levi Roots, author Neferatiti Ife, Journalist Snoopy and Presenter Eddie Nestor, reminisce from an insightful and informed perspective about the unique genre and participate in a series of skits covering its image.
Archive footage serves to educate and entertain about the groundbreaking scene and the network of iconic independent British reggae record labels such as DIP and Fashion Records – home to the late Smiley Culture, notable producers such as Dennis Bovell and Augustus Pablo, and the culture of Sound systems such as Coxon Sound. Viewers can learn about the impact of artists such as Peter Hunningale, Sylvia Tella, Carroll Thompson, Janet Kay, Aswad, Tippa Irie and UB40.
Lovers Rock formed the soundtrack to a generation’s rebellious teenage years as they sought to escape parental problems, and worked up a sweat dancing amid paraffin heaters. But the genre, which celebrated black pride, also witnessed a political heat against the backdrop of police brutality, the SUS laws, anti-racism marches, the 1981 Brixton riots and New Cross fire, which killed 13 black teenagers.
Recreated dances bring back fonder memories for contributors such as Comedienne Angie Le Mar. Recent live footage of performances by the likes of the late Louisa Marks, the late Jean Adebambo, Sandra Cross and newcomers such as Ava Leigh and Alton Ellis’ daughter Lovella Ellis, demonstrate that the genre has preserved its vibrancy and its audiences around the world.
It has some interesting lessons for those keen to break into the music industry from marketing and mix tapes via house parties and PAs, to the perils of contracts as singer Kofi (Carol Simms) of trio Brown Sugar recounts saying she made little money from their hit single I’m in Love with a Dreadlocks, which was number one in the reggae charts while the group were still in school.
The film charts the demand for Lovers Rock as it went from niche to mass market with Janet Kay appearing on Top of the Pops when Silly Games went national in 1979 after spending six months on the reggae scene, and the further triumphs for British reggae in the shape of Maxi Priest’s US success. The film also makes the link between the melodious largely female dominated scene and today’s grime movement. The triumphant film is precious; marking a great British legacy, which is often forgotten by the mainstream industry despite the genre going global (Japan and Latin America) and having shaped the UK’s appetite for future fusions of black music.
The Story of Lovers Rock is out now priced £15.99. Running time: 96 minutes including trailer and scene selection.
http://www.loversrockthefilm.com/index.php
Aswad play the Islington Assembly on 31 March.
Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson play the Islington Assembly on 11 May.
